8th Annual Mission Writers and Readers Festival – Linking Generations

The organizing committee is pleased to announce that Evelyn Lau will be attending the 8th Annual Mission Writers and Readers Festival.

This year’s Festival will be on March 7, 2015 at Heritage Park Centre.

Evelyn Lau is a renowned Vancouver writer who has published eleven books, including six volumes of poetry. Her first book, Runaway: Diary of a Street Kid, published when she was 18, was made into a CBC movie starring Sandra Oh. Evelyn’s fiction and non-fiction have been translated into a dozen languages worldwide; her poetry has received the Milton Acorn Award, the Pat Lowther Award, a National Magazine Award and a Governor-General’s nomination.

Festival Details

Meet the Writers

Evelyn Lau is a renowned Vancouver writer who has published eleven books, including six volumes of poetry. Her first book, Runaway: Diary of a Street Kid, published when she was 18, was made into a CBC movie starring Sandra Oh. Evelyn’s fiction and non-fiction have been translated into a dozen languages worldwide; her poetry has received the Milton Acorn Award, the Pat Lowther Award, a National Magazine Award and a Governor-General’s nomination.

Daniela Elza is a free-range poet and non-medicated scholar of the poetic consciousness. Her work has appeared nationally and internationally in close to 100 publications. Daniela’s poetry collections are: the weight of dew (Mother Tongue Publishing, 2012), the book of It (iCrow Publications, 2011) and milk tooth bane bone (Leaf Press, 2013) of which David Abram says: “Out of the ache of the present moment, Daniela Elza has crafted something spare and irresistible, an open armature for wonder.” Daniela was the 2014 Writer-In-Residence at the University of the Fraser Valley and the 2014 guest editor of emerge anthology.

Lois Peterson wrote for adults for more than 20 years before her first children’s book was published in 2008. Since then she has published six more books for children ranging in age from six to 14. Her third teen hi-lo and her first picture book are scheduled for 2015 publication. She is the also the author of 101-and more-Writing Exercises to Get You Started & Keep You Going. An engaging speaker and storyteller, Lois works in her ‘dream job for any Lifetime Learning Centre Societywriter’ in a public library in Surrey.

Chris Gilpin has performed at Calgary Spoken Word Festival, Victoria Spoken Word Festival, Kispiox Music Festival, v125 Poetry Conference, and Edmonton Poetry Festival. At the 2012 Vancouver International Poetry Festival, Chris won both the Nerd Slam and Erotica Slam. He is a two-time member of the Vancouver Poetry Slam Team (2008 & 2009), sole survivor of Vancouver’s 2008 Haiku Death Match, finalist in the 2010 Write Bloody Press manuscript competition, winner of Vancouver’s 2009 CBC Poetry Face-off, and the 2011 Vancouver Individual Poetry Slam champion. His literary work has been published in Geist, PRISM international, CV2, Poetry is Dead, Vancouver Review, and The Canadian Review of Literature in Performance. He is also the Executive Director of Vancouver Poetry House.

John Carroll, writer and director, is an associate professor of English at the University of the Fraser Valley. He recently directed That Land Beyond the Waves, a play about the Komagata Maru incident and its effects on the residents of the Fraser Valley. His most recent work of fiction is Madding Aphrodite, a collection of stories and poems on the tangled topic of relationships and love. He is currently working on a new novel which he has called an “auto-sciography.” He also is the author of Glory Days, a play that documents the golden era of logging on Harrison Lake.

Emily Pohl-Weary an award-winning author has published six books, a series of girl pirate comics, and her own literary magazine. She is the 2014 Toronto Public Library system’s eWriter-in-Residence for Young Voices and will be the 2015 Kuldip Gill Writer in Residence at University of the Fraser Valley. Her most recent novel for teens, Not Your Ordinary Wolf Girl, was published by Penguin Razorbill (Canada) and Skyscape (U.S.A.) in fall 2013. A new collection of her poetry, Ghost Sick, will be released in February 2015. She is currently working on a new teen novel, and revising a feature film screenplay, Life on the Edge, which received financing from Astral Media’s Greenberg Fund. Emily also has a passion for leading creative writing workshops that focus on writing skills, creative empowerment, learning tools for conflict-resolution, and finding your unique voice.

Schedule for Day

9:30 AM – Registration

10:00 AM – Keynote Speaker Emily Pohl-Weary

In her Keynote Emily will talk about how and why she started writing and on the importance of each of us finding and focusing on our unique voices – telling our stories in order to (re)claim space and diversify the Canadian literary canon. As well she will focus on how emerging voices in the Fraser Valley can contribute to our understanding of what it means to live in this vast country of so many different peoples, communities, and geographies.

10:30 AM – Morning Workshops

Q&A on Writing and Publishing – Evelyn Lau

Down the Rabbit Hole: Writing for Children & Young Adults – Lois Peterson

Having Fun with Rejections – Daniela Elza

12:00 Noon – Reading

12:30 PM – Lunch and Open Mike

1:00 PM – Reading

1:30 PM – Afternoon Workshops

Rise of the Poetry Video: How to make the Trend a Friend – Chris Gilpin

Workshops Details

Evelyn Lau “A Q&A on Writing and Publishing” (Morning Session)

Please join Evelyn Lau for this informal workshop; mostly a Q&A session around whatever aspects of the writing life that interest participants. She will be happy to entertain questions about publishing (poetry or prose), working with agents and editors, finding inspiration, the challenges of autobiographical writing, etc. She will bring a range of literary magazines to show participants and discuss the different styles of each journal and where participants might target their submissions.

Lois Peterson “Down the Rabbit Hole – Writing for children and young adults” – (Morning Session)

Part anecdote, part craft primer, part genre review, this lively workshop provides insights, tools and strategies for reaching children and teens with writing that reflects and responds to their world and meets the need of this growing and changing market.

Chris Gilpin “Rise of the Poetry Video: How to Make the Trend Your Friend” (Afternoon Session)

This workshop will examine how YouTube has changed the poetry landscape. Is the poetry video is simply a promotional tool or a new art form? We’ll review the new distribution networks set up online that act as virtual literary agents and publishing houses for poetry videos. We’ll watch the most innovative poetry videos and analyze the elements of their production that has led to their success. The secrets of how videos go viral will be revealed. Participants will learn several different approaches to putting their work online and how different video techniques fit different types of poems. Join us for a multimedia workshop that takes poetry into the internet age!

Daniela Elza “Having Fun with Rejections” (Morning Session)

In this workshop be prepared to write, talk and play around the topic of rejections. We will look at a gamut of real rejection letters. We will hope to break down some barriers, bring the topic into the light, examine what rejections mean in our life and on our writerly journeys. Whether you are a rejection veteran or have not received your first rejection yet bring your questions, come and help tease some wisdom out of the inevitability of rejections.

John Carroll – Capturing History (Afternoon Session)

A guided workshop/discussion on the possibilities of turning history–personal or not–into fiction. If you have a story you want to tell and you need encouragement, ideas about technique, inspiration, this workshop might provide you with a way in to that project. Come and share your thoughts and hear what others have to say about approaches they might take.

Are you writing your first book? Maybe you’re about halfway through, but feeling stumped by how to pull everything together? Struggling as you climb a mountain of great ideas? Uncertain how the heck you’ll make it to the perfect ending that shines so brightly in your mind? In this workshop, we’ll discuss how to stay on track, using outlines as plotting tools, the relentless revision process, and everything that needs to come together to make your book cohesive.